Press

Number Our Days to premiere at PAC NYC in April 2024

Each day for 18 years, Jamie Livingston documented his life by taking a single Polaroid—until his death at age 41. “Photo of the Day” and its surprising global resonance are now the subjects of a “photographic oratorio,” commissioned for the opening of the World Trade Center’s new performance space. With music by composer Luna Pearl Woolf and a libretto by documentary filmmaker David Van Taylor (a friend of Livingston’s), this evening-length work for chorus and orchestra will explore the strange alchemy of technology, memory, and community. View the public announcement here.

With God on Our Side headlines “Right to Choose” collection

In response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, indie streamer OVID.tv has curated a collection of documentaries that explore “how did we get here, and where might this be going?” Their RIGHT TO CHOOSE collection kicks off with WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE, Lumiere Productions’s 6-hour history of the Religious Right, which the Houston Chronicle called a “landmark” when it premiered in 1996. Episode 4 in particular uncovers how abortion arose as an evangelical issue only well after Roe, due to deliberate strategies of some canny political operatives. Check out the whole collection here.

A career-retrospective interview with educator Bob Fenster

I’ve never met David Van Taylor, but I’ve been using one of his films in my class for probably fifteen years. I regularly make allusions to it to people who have no idea what I’m talking about, which affords me the opportunity to tell them about one of the most incredible election campaigns of my life and to plug his film. A few years ago I saw his name on Facebook on a mutual friend’s wall and we’ve had fun quoting the film to each another every chance we get. Although David is not a classroom teacher (any more!), I see the role of documentarian tantamount to that of educator as viewers of his work will certainly affirm … Read more

“R.I.P. Ricky Leacock… Long Live ‘FILM TRUTH’?”

What is it that a camera sees? Do we need to accept and conform to the dominant storytelling paradigms, or is there actually more that we can be striving for? Perhaps no life and work embodies these questions as well as Ricky Leacock. Filmmaker David Van Taylor guest posts today with an examination of him and these issues, and the difference between documentary and essay film. There is a lot that can be said about these subjects, certainly enough for a six hour documentary AND many blog posts … Read more

Thrown Under the Bus: Working Conditions in Reality Television

The reality TV production workforce is booming in New York City (one estimate has it at more than 12,000 jobs), but the conditions pale in comparison to the more established fiction TV industry. The industry is almost entirely freelance, and workers on reality shows routinely work 12 or 14 hour days, 7 days a week, with no overtime or benefits. Lowell Peterson, executive director of the Writers Guild East, and David Van Taylor, who has worked as a creator, show-runner, producer, director, and writer, discuss the reality television industry’s conditions and why they think they should change … Listen

Why This Liberal Filmmaker Loves the Conservative Most Liberals Hate

I’ve been making documentaries for over 20 years. True to type, I’m a liberal Democrat. I believe America never should have gone into Iraq; I wish health care reform had gone much further; and I worry the Supreme Court is tilting dangerously to the right. But I also like the world of Manuel Miranda, conservative mastermind … Read more

American Masters interview for Good Ol’ Charles Schulz

Like his famous subject, director David Van Taylor discovered the extraordinary in the ordinary while making AMERICAN MASTERS Good Ol’ Charles Schulz … Read more

You, Madam, are No Ollie North

Commentators are now citing similarities between Sarah Palin and Oliver North. As a director of “A Perfect Candidate,” a behind-the-scenes documentary about North’s 1994 Senate campaign, I knew Oliver North. I spent months crisscrossing Virginia with Oliver North. And Sarah Palin is no Oliver North ... .Read more